Historical figures such as Turing and Austen replaced on notes after research concludes they are ‘contentious and divisive’
Emma Taggart Economics Reporter. Nick Gutteridge Chief Political Correspondent
The Bank of England axed historical figures such as Winston Churchill from banknotes after being told they were “elitist and divisive”, The Telegraph can reveal.
Research commissioned by the Bank concluded that figures such as Churchill, Alan Turing and Jane Austen were “contentious and not representative of the UK’s cultural and natural diversity”.
Officials were advised to replace portraits with images of nature on banknotes because historical figures represented “a backward-looking vision of the UK that carries too great a risk of division and controversy”.
The October 2025 report by Savanta, a market research consultancy, was delivered months before the Bank announced it would replace historical figures with wildlife on the next set of banknotes after featuring notable people alongside the monarch for more than five decades.
The Bank has argued that the switch is necessary to keep ahead of fraudsters who are growing more adept at replicating faces.
Writing in The Telegraph earlier this week, Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, said: “The Bank’s foremost objective is the security of our banknotes, which includes tackling the threat from counterfeiting.”
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However, the Savanta research, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, will raise questions about whether the decision was also motivated by concerns that featuring Britain’s former wartime prime minister and other national heroes would upset some sections of the public.
The Bank insisted that its decision to drop historical figures was not motivated by the Savanta research but driven by an earlier poll that found a majority of the public wanted to see nature on banknotes.Andrew Bailey says the UK must take Winston Churchill off banknotes for security reasonsCredit: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AFP via Getty Images
However, the revelation of the recommendations made to the Bank has prompted calls for a rethink of its decision.
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman, said the central bank “should stop wasting time and money on this”.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said Churchill and Turing were “heroes to be celebrated”.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired British Army officer, said: “Without great and courageous figures like Churchill and Turing, we may have swastikas on our banknotes today.
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“We owe them so much and it is right that we should be reminded of our debt to them daily on our banknotes.”
In one focus group, a member of the public described Turing, the World War Two codebreaker and mathematician, as “imperialistic”.
The participant said: “It does kind of still feel a little bit imperialistic … Even Alan Turing, who was obviously a famous scientist, is within the context of winning the Second World War.
“It does feel like there is that kind of boomer, imperialistic, ‘we’re the ones who won the Second World War and saved the world’ feeling to the [bank]notes.”
While Churchill was not specifically named, the research prepared for Bank of England staff warned that most of the 119 participants in Savanta’s focus groups felt that featuring historical figures on banknotes was “potentially divisive, elitist and disconnected from their own experiences”.
Researchers said: “Many participants – especially younger ones – questioned the relevance of current figures, suggesting the theme feels outdated. There was a clear desire for banknote imagery to evolve and better reflect modern Britain by being more inclusive.”The public is being asked to vote on which animals should appear on the new banknotes
The Bank of England was advised to move to images of nature after Savanta warned that scenes of landmarks and historical architecture were potentially also too controversial. Georgian and Victorian-era buildings were labelled as higher risk “due to potential links to colonialism/slavery”.
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One focus group participant from Northern Ireland said: “There are definitely buildings in Britain that have been erected on the back of slave trade money and that might not go down well.”
Even some images of nature were deemed to be too controversial. The Bank was advised to avoid picturing the White Cliffs of Dover “due to its association with the UK border”.
One focus group participant said the cliffs “could be seen by some people to be a political statement, particularly at the moment around immigration and small boats”.
London landmarks and religious buildings were also deemed unsafe options by Savanta.
The market research firm urged the central bank to frame “any move away from historical figures as a positive evolution that enhances banknotes, rather than a ‘censorship’ or ‘cancellation’ of history”.
The Bank announced earlier this week that the public would be asked for their views on which animals should feature on the next set of banknotes alongside the King. They will be given a choice of 18 native animals including the red fox, bottlenose dolphin, Atlantic puffin or the common frog.
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Announcing the consultation, Victoria Cleland, the chief cashier of the Bank of England, said the new imagery would “demonstrate the rich variety of wildlife we have to celebrate in the UK.”
However, the decision to remove portraits of historical figures has proved controversial.
Mr Jenrick said: “If it wasn’t for the likes of Churchill and Turing, we’d be living under a government that really was divisive and imperialistic.
“The Bank of England should stop wasting time and money on this and focus instead on keeping prices down. It’s not too late to cancel this nonsense.”
Mr Cartlidge said: “The likes of Churchill and Turing are not ‘backward looking’, they are some of our very greatest Britons who stood for freedom in the face of fascist oppression – heroes to be celebrated and to whom we owe a great debt.
“Equally, Jane Austen is one of the world’s greatest writers and we should be proud of her life and work, a remarkable contribution to literature and our country’s cultural heritage.”
Colonel Kemp said: “The woke desire to erase Britain’s proud and remarkable culture has now even infiltrated the Bank of England.
“This is yet another example – as we have seen before in other institutions like the National Trust – of an effort to rub out our pride in our great national figures. This decision is shameful and should be reversed.”
When the decision to put nature on Britain’s money was initially announced earlier this year, Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, accused the Bank of “erasing our history” while Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, labelled the plans “absolutely crackers”.
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The Bank launched a consultation on a potential new theme for the banknotes last year. The public was offered the chance to choose between six options, including keeping historical figures.
Some 60pc of the 44,000 responses selected nature as their preferred theme. Nature ranked above architecture and landmarks (56pc), historical figures (38pc), arts, culture and sport (30pc), innovation (23pc) and noteworthy milestones (19pc).
Savanta was commissioned to research more in-depth public opinion on the options after the initial consultation.
A Bank of England spokesman said: “To select the theme for our next series of banknotes, the Bank canvassed a range of opinion through a public consultation last year.
“This consultation received 44,000 responses and nature had the highest proportion of nominations and was the driver for our decision. This theme also received additional positive feedback in Bank-commissioned focus groups that took place once we had the results of the public consultation.”
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Writing in The Telegraph earlier this week, Mr Bailey said he was “proud to honour individuals including William Shakespeare, Florence Nightingale and, more recently, Sir Winston Churchill.”
The Bank of England began printing historical figures on sterling banknotes more than 50 years ago. Shakespeare was the first person, aside from a monarch, to be depicted when the playwright and poet was added to the £20 note in 1970.
Since then, a variety of historical figures have appeared on Britain’s paper money, ranging from Nightingale – regarded as the founder of modern medicine – to Adam Smith, the economist and philosopher.
Churchill features on the reverse of the £5 note, Austen on the £10, JMW Turner on the £20 and Alan Turing on the £50.
Other nations around the world feature historical figures on their currency. The Canadian 10-dollar note features Viola Desmond, the civil rights activist and businesswoman.
The New Zealand five-dollar note depicts Sir Edmund Hillary, an explorer who along with Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.
George Washington, the first president of the US, appears on the American $1 banknote. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th US president who led the country through the American Civil War, is featured on the $5 banknote.
Savanta declined to comment.
Bankwatch 